Table tennis rubbers can behave very differently, totally changing the ways table tennis can be played.
Some rubbers are rapid, making them ideal for aggressive offensive play. Others are more tame and controllable, as they were designed with all-round players and defenders in mind.
If you’re building your own custom table tennis racket and don’t know which rubbers are right for you, then you’re in the right place.
| Image | Product | Why We Recommend | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Beginners  |
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Intermediate and Advanced Players  |
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Forehand Side & Spin  |
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Backhand Side  |
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Control  |
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Blocking  |
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Choosing the best table tennis rubbers
Over our 25+ years of table tennis experience, we have tested hundreds of pieces of equipment.
We regularly purchase new table tennis blades, rubbers, and rackets and test them for 10+ hours to provide table tennis players with high-quality, comprehensive reviews. If you want to learn more about the way we create content, here’s a link to see how we review table tennis gear.
In this article, we will present you with 3 different choices for each of the categories:
- Top Pick – This rubber is our primary recommendation based on our extensive testing and our experience.
- Alternative – A great option if our top pick is not available, or has any specific elements that don’t fit your specific circumstances.
- Budget – For people with limited funds who still want an effective rubber that won’t hold them back.
You can also learn more with our article on how to choose a table tennis rubber.
Best Table Tennis Rubber for Beginners
A consistent backhand and forehand rubber that's hugely versatile for beginners discovering their playing style.
Read our Vega Intro review.
A soft, spinny, control-oriented rubber that supports stable offensive play on both wings.
Read our Vega Europe review.
A sticky rubber with an elastic sponge. Easy to use, spinny, and very affordable.
What beginners should look for in a table tennis rubber
When shopping for table tennis rubbers as a beginner, you want to look for control, consistency and spin above everything else. It’s important that you get controllable rubbers as a beginner as they will help you when learning more complex techniques. You will need rubbers that are forgiving and consistent without requiring advanced technique.
Why we love the Xiom Vega Intro for Beginners
The Xiom Vega Intro, as the name implies, was specifically designed for beginners. The Vega Intro has good spin and tons of control, making it the ideal rubber for players taking their first steps in competitive table tennis.
The sponge of the Xiom Vega Intro is of medium hardness, which makes it a great choice for both the forehand and the backhand wing.
What you need as a beginner is a rubber that strikes the perfect balance between having sufficient control and improving the quality of your shots. The Xiom Vega Intro does just that. Its speed level also makes it a good rubber for most playing styles.
All in all, the Vega Intro is a confidence-inducing rubber that makes it hard to miss the table while you’re getting to grips with all the table tennis techniques.
- Weight (Cut): 49g
- Speed: 8.3
- Spin: 8.8
- Control: 9.0
- Tackiness: Slightly Tacky
- Hardness: Medium-Hard
- ITTF Approved: Yes
- Sponge Thickness: 1.8mm, 2.0mm or MAX
Best budget table tennis rubber for beginners
The Yinhe Mercury 2 (Available on Amazon) is a spinny, controllable Chinese rubber. Its sticky topsheet has tons of grip and its speed levels are just perfect for table tennis beginners.
Best Table Tennis Rubber for Intermediate and Advanced Players
A very spinny, high-throwing rubber that can be used for aggressive loop play on either side.
Read our Tenergy 05 review.
A durable medium-hard, high-throwing, fast, spinny rubber with great offensive capabilities.
The most popular Chinese rubber. Very hard and spinny. Ideal for serves, receives, topspins and countertopspins.
Read our Hurricane 3 NEO review.
What Intermediate and Advanced Players should look for in a table tennis rubber
Intermediate and advanced players are ready to move on to high-performance rubbers that add venom to their attacks. Most intermediate and advanced players will look for high speed and spin attributes to make their loops more dangerous.
Why we love the Butterfly Tenergy 05 for Intermediate and Advanced Players
The Butterfly Tenergy 05 has been the go-to rubber for high-level players ever since its release in 2008. It has great speed, tons of grip, and a very high arc. Loops with the Tenergy 05 are as powerful and consistent as you’ll find on any rubber.
The Tenergy 05 is the ideal rubber for players who have an offensive playing style. The Tenergy 05’s strengths are its spin potential, its grip levels, and, most importantly, its arc.
The Tenergy 05 has a unique throw angle. Loops hit with the Tenergy 05 have tons of clearance over the net. After clearing the net, the ball drops rapidly onto the table.
This special attribute of the Tenergy 05, combined with its grip levels, make it a spinny, consistent, and safe rubber for offensive play. However, the Tenergy 05 is not recommended for beginners because of its spin sensitivity and its high speed.
- Weight (Cut): 49g
- Speed: 13.0
- Spin: 11.5
- Control: 8.0
- Tackiness: Slightly Tacky
- Hardness: Medium-Hard
- ITTF Approved: Yes
- Sponge Thickness: 1.7mm, 1.9mm or 2.1mm
Best budget table tennis rubber for Intermediate and Advanced Players
The DHS Hurricane 3 NEO is one of the most popular table tennis rubbers out there, and for good reason. The spin potential of the Hurricane 3 NEO rivals, and even surpasses, that of rubbers 4 times as expensive. The Hurricane 3 NEO is even better when boosted.
Best Table Tennis Rubber for the Forehand Side
A groundbreaking hybrid rubber that combines the superb spin of Chinese rubbers with the power of European rubbers.
A medium-hard, direct offensive rubber that has great speed and spin levels.
The most popular Chinese rubber. Very hard and spinny. Ideal for serves, receives, topspins and countertopspins.
Want more recommendations for a forehand rubber? Check out our 10 favorite forehand rubbers, with Dignics 09c at #1.
What you should look for in a forehand table tennis rubber
Forehand rubbers are usually harder than backhand rubbers because the forehand wing is able to generate more power than its counterpart. Powerful, medium-hard / hard rubbers are the most common choice for the forehand side.
Why we love the Butterfly Dignics 09c for the forehand side
The Butterfly Dignics 09c is currently the forehand rubber choice of hundreds of professional players. It combines a medium tacky topsheet with a very hard and porous sponge. The result is a spinny rubber with nearly limitless power reserves. The Dignics 09c is optimal for offensive play on the forehand side.
The Dignics 09c is the pinnacle of table tennis rubber development. It incorporates the most desirable characteristics of Chinese rubbers while having more than enough speed to finish out points.
The Dignics 09c is the ideal forehand rubber for offensive players because of its looping capabilities. It’s great for loop play because of its spinny topsheet and lively sponge, and it’s ideal for counterloops because of its stickiness and its hard sponge.
As of today, top professionals such as Timo Boll, Lin Yun Ju, and Dimitrij Ovtcharov are using the Butterfly Dignics 09c on the forehand side. Timo Boll said that the Dignics 09c is his rubber of choice because it has a long dwell time and it’s very controllable in counter topspin shots.
- Weight (Cut): 50g
- Speed: 13.0
- Spin: 13.0
- Control:
- Tackiness: Medium Tacky
- Hardness: Hard
- ITTF Approved: Yes
- Sponge Thickness: 1.9mm or 2.1mm
Best budget table tennis rubber for the forehand side
The DHS Hurricane 3 NEO is one of the most popular forehand table tennis rubbers. It has a dense, hard sponge and a very spinny topsheet that’s ideal for serves, 3rd ball attacks, loops and counter loops.
Best Table Tennis Rubber for Backhand
A very fast, to-the-point rubber that's ideal for backhand blocks, punches, topspins, and counter topspins.
Read our Tenergy 64 review.
A medium-soft rubber with a superb balance of speed, spin, and control.
Read our Rasanter R42 review.
A Chinese rubber with European characteristics. It's a balanced, offensive grippy rubber at a lower price.
What you should look for in a backhand table tennis rubber
Backhand rubbers are usually softer than forehand rubbers because the backhand wing uses more compact strokes than its counterpart. Fast, medium-soft / medium rubbers are the most common choice for the backhand side.
Why we love the Butterfly Tenergy 64 for the backhand side
The Butterfly Tenergy 64 is the ultimate backhand rubber. It combines a grippy topsheet with a fast spring sponge. Its pimples are more spread apart than on other Tenergy rubbers, which makes the Tenergy 64 faster, softer and less spin sensitive, the ideal characteristics for a modern backhand rubber.
The Butterfly Tenergy 64 is exceptional at shots that are played while the ball is rising or on top of the bounce because of its direct parabola. It’s a great rubber for blocks, punches, and loops.
The Butterfly Tenergy 64 combines two unique characteristics: Spin insensitivity and very high speeds. This makes it the ideal rubber for backhand exchanges, as you can easily ignore incoming spin and you can attack your opponent with tons of power using short strokes.
Lots of professional players used the Tenergy 64 on their backhand side, the most notable of all being Ma Long, the greatest player of all time.
- Weight (Cut): 48g
- Speed: 13.5
- Spin: 10.5
- Control: 4.0
- Tackiness: Slightly Tacky
- Hardness: Medium-Hard
- ITTF Approved:
- Sponge Thickness: 1.7mm, 1.9mm or 2.1mm
Best budget table tennis rubber for the backhand side
The Friendship Focus 3 Snipe is a very capable backhand rubber for not much money. It pairs a relatively soft sponge with a grippy topsheet, which makes a balanced, spinny rubber for controlled offensive play.
Best Table Tennis Rubber for Control
A legendary rubber that can be used on either side for maximum control on all shots.
Read our Mark V review.
A classic rubber with superb feel. Excellent for controlled attackers, pushers and blockers.
A traditional, hard sticky rubber that's great for controlled spin-based play, both offensive and defensive.
Read our 729 Super FX review.
What you should look for in a Controllable table tennis rubber
Controllable rubbers don’t have that much inbuilt tension. Their sponges aren’t chemically treated and they aren’t too fast. The upside to this is that these rubbers are a joy to play with because it’s easy to get the ball on the table over and over again.
Why we love the Yasaka Mark V as a Control rubber
The Yasaka Mark V is probably the most legendary rubber in the history of table tennis. It has been selling in the thousands for more than half a century, and that is because of its classic, timeless design. The Mark V has sufficient spin and tons of control.
You’ll struggle to find a more controllable rubber than the Yasaka Mark V. It is not the fastest nor the spinniest rubber in the market, but it’s great for putting the ball on the table over and over again.
The Yasaka Mark V was used by the greatest table tennis players of all time to win countless world championships spanning 4 different decades: the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and the 90’s.
More than 50 years after its release, the Yasaka Mark V still retains its world-class feel, and even though it’s not used by professional players anymore, it’s a great rubber for control-oriented players.
- Weight (Cut): 44g
- Speed: 8.0
- Spin: 9.0
- Control: 8.7
- Tackiness: Slightly Tacky
- Hardness: Medium
- ITTF Approved: Yes
- Sponge Thickness: 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 1.8mm, 2.0mm or MAX
Best budget Control rubber
The 729 is as classic and timeless as the Mark V, but it’s a hard Chinese rubber, which makes it a bit harder to get power out of it. However, it’s still a very controllable, spinny rubber and it costs less than $20 a sheet.
Best Table Tennis Rubber for Spin
A groundbreaking hybrid rubber that combines the superb spin of Chinese rubbers with the power of European rubbers.
A controllable, spinny hybrid rubber. It plays like an extra grippy, slightly slower but spinnier Eurpoean rubber.
Read our Rakza Z review.
The most popular Chinese rubber. Very hard and spinny. Ideal for serves, receives, topspins and countertopspins.
Read our Hurricane 3 NEO review.
What you should look for in a Spinny table tennis rubber
Spinny rubbers are rubbers that are very grippy, tacky, or both. Their topsheets are specially designed to bite the ball and imprint tons of rotation on it. The downside to this is that spinny rubbers are usually quite spin-sensitive, so you have to pay attention to return any incoming spin shots successfully.
Why we love the Butterfly Dignics 09c as a Spinny rubber
The Butterfly Dignics 09c is extremely grippy in addition to being tacky. Lots of European professional players are using it and getting tremendous amounts of spin on their shots.
The Dignics 09c generates tons of spin not only because of its grippy and tacky topsheet but also because of its spring sponge.
Another attribute that helps in the spin generation capabilities of the Dignics 09c is its dwell time. Because it’s not as bouncy as the Tenergy line, and because it is tacky, the Dignics 09c gives the player more time with the ball, which helps tremendously when going for spin shots.
- Weight (Cut): 50g
- Speed: 13.0
- Spin: 13.0
- Control:
- Tackiness: Medium Tacky
- Hardness: Hard
- ITTF Approved: Yes
- Sponge Thickness: 1.9mm or 2.1mm
Best budget Spinny rubber
The Hurricane 3 NEO is one of the spinniest rubbers on the market. Most Chinese professional players utilize the National version of the Hurricane 3 NEO, and that speaks for its capabilities. The commercial version of the Hurricane 3 NEO is as spinny as any other rubber in the market at around $20 a sheet.
Best Table Tennis Rubber for Blocking
A medium-hard, direct offensive rubber that has great speed and spin levels.
A medium-hard, balanced, spinny rubber with great touch. Ideal for controlled offensive play on both wings.
A sticky rubber with an elastic sponge. Easy to use, spinny, and very affordable.
What you should look for in a good Blocking table tennis rubber
If you want a rubber that blocks very well, you should purchase one that’s stable, fast but not too fast and if possible, spin insensitive. These characteristics make for controlled, yet dangerous blocks.
Why we love the Andro Rasanter R47 as a Blocking rubber
The Andro Rasanter R47 has the perfect speed and hardness for a blocking rubber. It has lots of control and stability due to its linear medium-hard sponge, but also sufficient speed to trouble opponents with your blocks because of the hi-tech Andro Ultramax sponge.
The Andro Rasanter R47 has tons of stability. This makes it very safe to block with, especially when it comes to active blocks.
The Andro Rasanter R47 has just the right amount of speed and the right hardness to perform active blocks effectively. It’s also a very good punching and flat-hitting rubber.
- Weight (Cut): 49g
- Speed: 12.0
- Spin: 12.6
- Control: 8.5
- Tackiness: Slightly Tacky
- Hardness: Medium-Hard
- ITTF Approved: Yes
- Sponge Thickness: 1.7mm, 2.0mm or ULTRAMAX
Best budget Blocking rubber
The Yinhe Mercury 2 (Available on Amazon) is a very good blocking rubber, especially in terms of control. The Mercury 2 is a great balanced rubber, and blocking is one of the attributes it excels at. It has the correct hardness for a blocking rubber and its sponge makes it very easy to control incoming loops.
How To Choose a Table Tennis Rubber
There are tons of variables that affect what rubber you should choose. Some rubbers are fast, others are spinny, others are controllable. Some are hard, others are soft. Some are grippy, others are tacky. All these characteristics can make the selection process a lot harder.
If you want to learn more, we have written a complete guide on how to choose a table tennis rubber. That guide covers everything you need to know about table tennis rubbers.
Style of Play
As previously mentioned, table tennis rubbers are tailored to a certain style of play. Some rubbers are better for defenders, while others are created for attackers.
If you want to find out what your player style is, we recommend taking our playing styles quiz.
Speed, Spin, Control
Every table tennis rubber has 3 main attributes, speed, spin and control.
The speed of a rubber determines how quickly the ball rebounds off it. Fast rubbers produce rapid shots but are harder to control, because they have less dwell time. They shoot off the rubber quickly so you have to be very precise to get the ball on the table.
Speed is inversely proportional to control. The faster a rubber is, the less control it has, and vice versa.
With controllable rubbers, the ball doesn’t shoot off as quickly, giving a greater margin for error. The downside to this is that your attacks won’t be as dangerous.
The spin of a rubber determines how capable a rubber is to put spin on the ball.
The grippier/tackier a rubber is, the more spin it will have. Most players use spinny rubbers because they’re the best for most playing styles. Defenders like to load their chops with backspin while attackers like to attack with heavy topspin shots.
The downside to spinny rubbers is that the more grip a rubber has, the more spin-sensitive it is, making it harder for the player to block spinny shots, receive serves, play counter topspins, etc.
Thickness
The thickness of a rubber determines its speed. If the sponge is thicker, then the rebound effect of your rubber will be greater.
Thinner rubbers are recommended for defenders because they have more control, while thicker rubbers are recommended for attackers because they have more power.
In short, pick:
- 2.0mm and up if you want fast speeds.
- 1.6mm -1.9mm if you’re looking for added control but still have enough power to attack
- 1.5mm or less for mostly defensive play.
Alvaro’s a qualified ITTF Level 1 Coach who's been playing Table Tennis since he was 15 and is now ranked within the top 50 in his native Argentina. He loves to compete in provincial tournaments and is always looking for ways to improve. Alvaro made his favorite memories with a racket in hand, and he joined the RacketInsight team to share his passion with other players!
Blade: Butterfly Fan Zhendong ALC | Forehand: Butterfly Dignics 09c | Backhand: Butterfly Tenergy 19
Playstyle: The Controller
David's been playing Table Tennis since he was 12, earning his first coaching license in 2012. He's played in national team & individual competitions, although he prefers the more relaxed nature of a local league match! After earning his umpiring qualification in England, David moved to Australia and started Racket Insight to share information about the sport he loves.
Blade: Stiga WRB Offensive Classic | Forehand: Calibra LT | Backhand: Xiom Musa
Playstyle: The All-Rounder
Great article. Thank you very much.
T. Harimoto plays with Dignics 05. Do you think Victas 22 Double Extra would play similar to D05? Both are 50° hardness and very grippy.
And, please, what do you think about that Joola Dynarys rubbers?
Thanks a lot.
Regards from Lima.
Hello Aldo,
I can’t really say, as I haven’t tried V>22 Double Extra. Dignics 05 is a very special rubber, it’s unlike any other rubber I’ve tried, so I suppose there must be a difference in feeling. I think that the Dignics is for sure the most durable of the two as it’s the most durable rubber I’ve tried, and the Double Extra is about average according to other reviewers.
Joola Dynaryz rubbers are quite good from what I’ve heard, lots of semi-pro players in Argentina are using them and I’ve heard lots of good things. Haven’t tried any of these extensively yet, though. I’ve only hit with the ZGR and the ACC for a couple of minutes and I liked them but I couldn’t give a detailed review.
Regards from Buenos Aires,
Álvaro
Hello, won’t you guys consider Tenergy05 hard a good enough rubber to be inside of your recommended rubbers list ?
i was searching another rubber to replace my old tenergy 05 , and i saw tenergy05 hard with the same potencial of the dignics line, i guess could be a great .
Best regards,
Joao Antonio Lobato
Brazilian tabble tennis player ( japanese pen-hold)
Yep, Tenergy 05 hard is a superb rubber, it just wasn’t “universal” enough to fit in this article. It is only for players who want the utmost speed, so we chose the regular Tenergy 05 instead which is a safer bet.
We did include the T05 hard in our next article, so stay tuned for it 🙂
Cheers,
Álvaro
Hi,
I am looking to get back into table tennis after many years of not playing. I played a lot 5-8 years ago but haven’t played since so I am sure I’ve gotten a lot worse and need to relearn techniques.
My old racket (PG7 + H3 Neo FH + Rakza 7 Soft BH) has been sitting idle doing nothing for the last 6 years so it looks like it isn’t in a very good condition so I am planning to buy a new solid custom racket setup to relearn my techniques. I have no budget, can you guys advice a good beginner setup (not complete beginner like your average joe but also would not say I’m Intermediate yet). I’d rather just try to relearn and take it more seriously this time.
Based of your articles I am thinking, Nittaku Acoustic with Xiom Vega Intro for both sides? Would this be the best to go for now.
Thanks
Hello,
If I were you, I’d keep the blade and choose the Vega Intros, the Mercury 2, Rakza Z, Rakza 7, Rakza 7 soft is also fine as well.
Those would be my recommendations.
Cheers,
Álvaro
According to Xiom cataloge “Intro” has more speed comared to “Europe” (7,5 vs 7,0). I tried shortly in a club setups with Vega Europe and felt that is to fast for me. How much faster rubber can suit for beginner better than slower one? Currently I use Yinhe Mercury 2 (fh: medium, bh: soft) and Yasaka Sweden Extra blade. Currently I want to try something different rubbers that not demand much physical effort. What is your advise? Can you also reccomend Xiom Vega Elite (79-013) as BH rubber for beginners? Suspect that Vega Intro is better for beginners that Vega Europe due to its linear and less bouncy behavior. But what I can found, that Europe is more durable than Intro.
Hello Vasyl,
We have tested both and concluded that Vega Europe is bouncier but has less top speed than Vega Intro.
Let’s say that Vega Europe has a 6 as its base speed and a 7 as its top speed, Vega Intro has a 5 as its base speed and a 7.5 as its top speed.
Both are very controllable but Vega intro is a bit better for beginners because it’s slightly less bouncy.
As for your testing, maybe you tried the Vega Europe on a faster blade, you also have to factor that in. The Sweden Extra is a very controllable blade, so if you tried the Vega Europe on a regular offensive blade, it’d be normal for it to feel a lot faster because of the blade.
I’d recommend Vega Intro or Vega Europe, both are great rubbers for beginners. Otherwise, you can stick with Mercury 2 which should be completely fine.
Cheers,
Álvaro
Hi Alvaro and David, this is Tim from Spintesters. We’ve also just recently published our own recommendation page for backhand rubbers (see url attached) and stumbled across your site afterwards. It’s funny to see so many matches for rubber recommendations (like Mark V, Sriver etc.) when comparing our list to yours. However, I was a bit surprised to see Tenergy 64 on your page. Isn’t that one of the fastest rubbers Butterfly offers? I’ve never played it but I would assume that it has a very flat ball trajectory / arc and therefore I could image that doing backhand topspin against downspin might be difficult. How are your experiences with T64 on the backhand? I personally like rubbers with a higher arc like Fastarc G1.
And are you sure that Ma Long is using T64 on his backhand? According to tabletennis-reference (dot com) he is using Hurricane 3 NEO on his backhand.
Cheers,
Tim
Hello Tim!
That’s a very nice website! Congratulations on your work 🙂
Tenergy 64 is indeed one of the fastest rubbers that Butterfly offers, it’s probably the second fastest after the T05 hard. It is indeed a rubber catered for advanced players, and backhand open ups against backspin do require very good timing, yes. I’m with you, I’m currently using Tenergy 19 on the backhand which has a lot more control and a higher, safer arc. However, T64 is probably the objectively better rubber assuming very good technique.
Ma Long isn’t using T64 on his backhand, he’s using H3 NEO as you said. We wrote that Ma Long used the T64 (in the past), as did Zhang Jike and countless other legends of this amazing sport 🙂
Congrats on the website once again!
Cheers,
Álvaro
What thickness would you recommend for the BH rubber if you are a beginner?
Hey Diego!
We usually recommend going for MAX thickness for beginners, although this is a point of contention between experienced coaches. Most players end up with MAX rubbers eventually anyway, so it’s worth training and developing technique with the same thickness. The counterpoint is that thinner rubbers can be easier to control due to the reduced catapult effect.
If you’re in any doubt, keep it simple and go for a 2.0mm beginners rubber on a MED/MED+/OFF- blade.
Is Tibhar genius supreme a good fh rubber??
Should I try this rubber
Hello Shivang,
Unfortunately, I can’t help you, as I’ve never tried that rubber.
Cheers,
Álvaro
I am playing table tennis since 1.5 years . At starting I was playing with plain rubber and after few months I start playing with long pips on my backhand .
So should I continue my play with long pips aur I should Play with plain rubber .
Thank u
Hello Shivang,
You should play with the rubbers you like better. If you have more fun playing with long pips, then use long pips, if you have more fun using regular inverted rubbers, use them.
In my opinion the most important thing about your rubber choice, be it inverted, pips or antispin, is what feels the most fun and rewarding to use.
Cheers,
Álvaro
Can u suggest me good fh rubber and I have long pips on backhand
Thank u
Hello Shivang,
It depends on your playing style and level, so if you could tell us that, we can help you in more detail.
Cheers,
Álvaro